Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the
world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to
over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a
wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history,
humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.

If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
features available, you will need to register first. Registration is
absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!

Where locally would one find linseed oil and tung oil. I need to condition my jo and bokken, but I am unable to find the above. I have looked at a few local asian markets and hardware stores. I have found linseeds, but not the oil. I have heard flax seed oil is the same, but still cannot find that! As for tung oil.. no luck either. Maybe a woodworking store? Any idea's out there as to a similar product I could use?

Menards also has boiled linseed and tung oil as well as Danish oil, most health food stores should have flax seed oil (refrigerated section) but I don't know if you need it processed or not. Also, any decent art store that sells art supplies would have the boiled linseed oil or tung oil. I think I like boiled linseed oil the best, it really smells nice.

The gentleman that made both my jo and bokken recommended using tung or linseed oil to keep the wood in good shape. Tung oil does not hinder jo from sliding through your hands, by the way.

Yep, and the car company that made my car, makes's 100,000's of them a year told me to put dinosaur sludge in the crank case. I didn't pay much attention to them, either, and got over 200,000 miles out of the car and sold it to my sensei who happily drives it everywhere.

I've finished 100's of gun stocks with a 50-50% mix of linseed oil and tung oil. It eventually fills the pores and forms a uniform satin finish.

That finish might slide through your hands where you are just fine, but it doesn't here where we train outdoors and the summer heat index averages 105.

Well, just a week ago it was around 110 degrees here, so I guess you're right. My jo is going on four years old, and has been treated with tung oil from the beginning (cut with mineral spirits I should add), and haven't had a problem yet. I also have a close relative who's had a 3rd generation family-run cabinet making business confirm that the tung oil is a good treatment for the wood. I guess we'll just have to agree-to-disagree, Mr. Jennings.

I have tried linseed oil for over 1 year and was quite annoyed with the rancid smell as well as the yellowing of my once beautiful white oak weapons. Apart from that, linseed oil seems to be perfect. I started recently using mineral oil which does not have any of the above inconveniences, but is not as effective as linseed. Many websites specialized in woods actually advise to use linseed and tung oil as a first option.
And, by the way, weapons treated with tung and linseedoils do develop a rubbery surface which sticks to the hands, especially in the beginning of the practice. But since my hands are quite sweaty, then after a few minutes of training, I have no problem whatsoever. I did not see this happen with mineral oil.

Well, just a week ago it was around 110 degrees here, so I guess you're right. My jo is going on four years old, and has been treated with tung oil from the beginning (cut with mineral spirits I should add), and haven't had a problem yet. I also have a close relative who's had a 3rd generation family-run cabinet making business confirm that the tung oil is a good treatment for the wood. I guess we'll just have to agree-to-disagree, Mr. Jennings.

Linseed oil and tung oil are _terrific_ treatments for wood. As I said, I've used them for years to finish gun stocks to a very beautiful, natural finish.

Cutting the tung oil with mineral spirits may make the oil less inclined to coagulate and give the effect I'm speaking of. Ditto Christian's suggestion of wiping off excess with turpentine. I have no experience with either.

What I'm speaking about is layers and layers of boiled linseed and/or tung oil eventually filling all the pores and forming a completely smooth, satiny finish. It's gorgous when done well. I just completed refinishing a family heirloom cherry banquet table using it; it's out of this world.

But with the jo, my experience has been that once the pores fill up and one doesn't feel the pores anymore, the jo will drag some in the hands when doing tsuki movements.

If you have ever refinished the woodwork on a sailboat, then you really know what a pain it is to oil the wood every other week along with cleaning and refinishing twice a year. That's why God invented varnish, for us lazy people who want to use our sticks, not be oiling them every couple of weeks.

My oldest weapon is a bokken (3 and 1/2 years or so...), which I've oiled with lindseed oil it's entire life, first in Las Vegas (hot/dry) then in Baltimore (hot, wet)...it seems to be doing OK, not sticky, but I rub the oil in, and then buff with a cloth...it does smell like lindseed, which is OK by me but not great, so sometimes I add orange oil. I use artist grade lindseed oil, and food grade orange oil... the former from art stores, the latter from a pricey cooking catalog.

If I do say so myself, I think the finish on my weapons is particularly smooth, but that is more due to the sanding and hand polishing than the oil, I think.

If you are having trouble with the gripping properties of your jo, finish is only one issue. Another is the porosity of wood type, and another is sandpaper. There are many grits of sandpaper to be used, and the way your jo came needn't be the end of the story. (The one I have now also came with a polyurethane or lacquer coating that I immediately removed.)

Sanding is not a willy-nilly business. The main rule is not to jump up grits too boldly, if you do, the surface will be a hodgepodge of rough and smooth... basically it will end up with furry bits.

If you would like a smoother jo, go buy some fine grit papers, starting at 100 or 150, and work your way up until you like the feel. To test out the feel, and/or to prepare for a new grit, you need to vigorously wipe it and your hands down with a damp cloth and let it dry to get rid of dust interference.

In my experience, once you've sanded the surface to where you want it, putting a little oil on it is good, but which kind isn't all that important, so long as it is not as polymer/glaze finish like polyurethane or varnish. White oak, in particular, isn't going to absorb much of it anyway. Pure tung oil (not tung oil varnish) is good, but I think it and linseed/flax oil smell unpleasantly rancid when dry. My favorite is Watco oil finish. Rub it on liberally, let it sit for a few minutes, then rub off the excess with a dry cloth. However, it and most varnishes contain petroleum distillates - be warned that rags and papers soaked with it are subject to spontaneous combustion, and should be sealed in a can for disposal.

By the way, is the "refined linseed oil" you buy in artist supply stores the same as boiled linseed oil? From what I have read is that you should mix 50% tung oil and 50% boiled linseed oil for your finish.